ASHKUM BEAR

I do agree, we need a Julius Peppers, Mario Williams, Dwight Freeney, type of DE. Someone you have to game plan around. Also: The guys we have are decent, but for some reason I think they are held back by our scheme. Brian Griese knew this and he also knew our Cover 2 would give the middle of the field. He took advantage of this with 3 step drops, stepping up in the pocket and hitting the inside routes. 67 pass attempt wore out our DL as they could not get to him in time. I think if our DE could do more the try to run an outside contain, they can suprise the opposing offenses.

what happened to our great D Line? They can no longer get pressure on QB's without using our LB or DB to blitz.

Leon Johnson - yuk Bobby Wade - did alright R.W. McQuarters - did pretty good Jerry Azumah - pretty good also Nathan Vasher - not bad I don't think I'd like to see that trade, especially with JA 1st RD draft history. Hester for a starting OL, then I might consider it.

With two games down, the Bears future needs may have shifted a little. Brandon McGowan once again went down and the Bears must plan to go on with out him, so finding another S has shifted up on the Bears big board. As the world knows, the Bears also need to find a QB that won't just be counted on to be a game manager, but can be relied upon to give them a chance to win a game also. The Bears also need to continue rebuilding the OL and should look at Tampa/Carolina as a model. I have the Bears picking 17th after this week: RD1-17 Duke Robinson G Oklahoma 6-5 330 JA struggled on making this pick b/c he likes his pick Beekman and FA pickup Bruenning, but Robinson is a probowl type player and will make Forte even better which will help Chicago fans forget about draft picks like Benson. RD2-49 Curtis Painter QB Purdue 6-4 223 Painter will learn under former Purdue alum Kyle Orton even though he will break Purdues passing stats which were held by Drew Brees and Orton. Painter will finally silent the Bears critics as he has all the tools to become a franchise QB. He has a very quick release, strong arm with accuracy, and great size. His play has been compared to Cowboys QB Tony Romo. RD3-81 Phil Loadholt RT Oklahoma 6-8 350 Another Oklahoma Sooner making his home in Chicago. Loadholt is a mammoth run blocker and will help JA solidify the OL for years to come. RD3-99 (comp) Emmanuel Cook S South Carolina 5-10 214 The Bears like the fiesty S and compare him to Indy's Bob Sanders. With McGowan/Brown's contract expiring they will most likely make an offer to keep Brown. Thus leaving them with for sures Payne and Steltz, and maybe Brown. RD4-124 Oderick Turner WR Pit 6-3 200 Turner is a big, fast WR that was very effective his freshman year when Pit had an actual QB(Tyler Palko). Coming out of Pit, he had to live up to Larry Fitzgerald, which he will never accomplish, but he does have more speed, the same height, and 25 fewer pounds. If he could have only had Palko every year like Fitzgerald had, Turner may of been considered a first RD talent. RD5-137 Brannan Southerland FB Georgia 6-0 240 Southerland can do it all. Block, run, and catch which the Bears look for in there FB's. Southerland will be an upgrade over McKie and will also be another key blocker for Forte. RD6-170 Jasper Brinkley ILB South Carolina 6-2 257 Brinkley has loads of talent, but an injury to his knee dropped him down most draft boards. The Bears love to pick these types of players up especially if they already have quality at the position. Brinkley w/ 4.5 speed will be a nice backup until Urlacher decides to retire. RD7-233 Willie VanDeSteeg DE Minnesota 6-4 255 Another Bear gamble as Slick Willie has a criminal record and injury history, but has loads of talent at rushing the passer. The Bears take a gamble on Willie to see how serious he is about a career in the NFL.

I like the fact that they mention that Chris Williams is out on the field with a helmet on. Thats some excellant news!

I'll admit, I was one that thought Rex got the bad end of the deal when he was told it was an open "fair" competition for the starters role. I thought he should of had a shot last year against a weaker Detroit team to rebound. Since that is in the past, I've gotten behind Kyle Orton. After two games, I still stick behind Kyle even though the bench K.O. is starting to drift. Heres what I've seen in Kyle so far: SHINES: -Kyle has the upmost respect from his teammates. He was voted team captain by his teamates which Rex never was. -Kyle seems to "get" what it takes to be a QB. He can read a defense and make the necessary adjustments which I don't recall seeing Rex doing that at all. -Kyle is conservative with the football and takes what is given which is usually the "1st tier"(haven't heard that enough) -Kyle has better pocket presence and either steps up or rolls out to avoid pressure, Rex just back pedaled and threw off his back foot. -Kyle is 6-4 and seems to have better vision to make quicker reads and throwing screens. Rex at 6-0 had trouble throwing the screen and only seemed to have good vision when the WR was 15 yds down field or more. DIMS: -Kyle accuracy past 15 yards has been pretty bad, as the season passes, teams will figure out how to take advantage of this weakness. I hate to see his completion % on those pass plays -Even though I'm glad he's doing it, his audibles or check outs have caused some confusion for the team and have resulted in broken plays (penalties) or failure to succeed. -Kyles turnover potential. He's been praised so far to not turn the ball over, but the balls have all bounced his way so far. Theres been potential for 6 INT's that have been dropped (counting in my head) , a botched snap, and a strip which he fell on so far. That luck is bound to break. CONCLUSION: Kyle seems to have a lot more SHINES than DIMS and looks like he can take this job and progress with it. Rex could be more successful right now b/c it does seem the line is greatly improved and we have a running game, which I think Rex is more deadly when he has play action working for him, BUT I don't want to even see Rex behind center at all. I think Kyle will improve week by week in his DIMS as he gets more reps under center. His timing on the deep throws will improve since all he did in TC and Preseason was dink and dunk. His audibles will improve after he learns what works and what don't. The audible is a part of the game I've been waiting for in CHI for a while and Kyle seems to have taken something from Peyton Manning on opening day. The turnovers will always be a part of the game, but if Kyle sees that he could very well have 6 INTS and 0 TD's and learns from that he should be able to continue on his low turnover ratio. As I look forward, I hope the Bears and Bear Fans can keep the patience with Kyle Orton. If he can continue to progress, we can have a decent servicable QB for some time. He doesn't have the flash or cannon that Rex does, but he has the smarts to work around those defeciences and that so far has put us in position to win 2 tough games this year, even though we ended up losing one of those.

Tom Brady-----> ???????? Fitzgerald ------> Fitzgerald Roy Williams-----> R. Williams Johnathan Stewart---> R. Brown Rudi Johnson --------> R. Johnson Lee Evans---------> W. Welker Antonio Gates-------> A. Gates Neil Rackers--------> N. Rackers Oakland DEF--------> Oakland DEF -I thought J. Stewart had his coming out party against us, and will only get more carries as the season progress. This one may end up hurting -Who's your QB now? -Have you picked up any RB's (Lamont Jordan may be a FA sleeper to take carries away from Marohney)? -Do you have second thoughts on the trade now?

I remember writing about him 6 months ago or so saying he should be a big contibuter this year. The reaction I got was about 70-30 betting against. Some whispers about why he didn't see much or any of the field last year was because Rusty Jones noticed his body (muscles and bones) wasn't caught up yet to his size. Rusty thought giving him a year under his supervision, he can get him ready for the NFL. One reason why I put my blog out on this was b/c I seen him filling a Guard position, thus putting the need for G a little lower on my draft wish list. The Guard I wanted JA to draft was McGlynn from Pit and Philly traded one slot in front of us in the 4th RD and took him. I believe since he was are target and gone, we traded down w/ Mia and then Tampa and took Craig Stetz.

www.rotoworld.com is the source Dolphins claimed OL Kirk Barton off waivers from the Bears. Third TE Sean Ryan will be waived later Thursday. Barton's skills are limited enough that he doesn't project as more than a swing-type reserve. Source: Chicago Sun Times Related: Bears Looks like we lost out on the Kirk Barton sweepstakes. He decided to take his chances on Miami's 53 man roster. Good luck Kirk, 2 years from nows when I see you on MNF as a starting RT i'll be a little po'd

Great news, congrats Wale. Heres the following NFL players of the week: week 1 Adewale Ogunuleye week 2 Tommie Harris week 3 Brian Urlacher week 4 Lance Briggs week 5 Charles Tillman week 6 Mike Brown week 7 Mark Anderson week 8 Patric Willis SF (Bears Bye) week 9 Nathan Vasher week 10 Alex Brown week 11 Dusty Dvorecek week 12 Daniel Manning week 13 Hunter Hillenmeyer week 14 Marcus Harrison week 15 Kevin Payne week 16 Israel Idonije week 17 Jamar Williams

Not a true sophmore, he was redshirted his freshmen year

OK a 5 is way too high, but making it a conditional 5th if he plays in the probowl (never happen), a 6th if he plays 50% of the snaps, or 7th if he rides the bench. I would love to see us get some benefit out of Williams this year, but I don't want to see the Bears push the kid out there only to prove he's not a bust which many have already labeled him. I hated Miller last season, but if Tait/St. Clair go down this year, Miller should be able to pick up instantly with out much of a drop off. Thus, the signing is pretty significant.

Me personally would of considered two other options first: 1: Contact Jacksonville who lost two starting OL about sending Metcalf there for a 5-7 RD pick. 2: Put Chris Williams on the IR, and let him get the rest and strength to prepare for next year.

That is true, Benn is not eligible this draft. First round WR's (so far), the two I would consider if our OL/QB target is off the board is Heyward-Bey or Maclin Michael Crabtree WR Texas Tech 6-3 210 4.48 Percy Harvey WR Florida 5-11 186 4.32 Darrius Heyward-Bey WR Maryland 6-2 205 4.33 Jermy Maclin WR Missouri 6-1 199 4.33

Jason, thats what I really want to do myself, but for some reason I swithced it to Harper.

Too early, nah. Jerry Angelo and staff have their scouts out and are evaluating, they have positions of priority they concentrate on and I bet they have QB, OL, S, WR on that list. They will also look at other positions, but those so far are priorities I see as evident. I enjoy looking at mock drafts and following college players.

I will admit, I was pretty down that week as the Bears were looking awful in every aspect. Now, I feel so much better than the 4-12 (which I stated to spark some interest) I was slating them back then. I can now improve them to 9-7. I sure hope they can be much better, but until Orton can get a better grasp behind center, the offense will be rocky. If they beat Carolina in the same fashion as Indy, I'll be on the 13 win boat.

After dominating the Colts in week 1, the Bears war room re-arranges its priorities. Here is my version of there draft board. My highest priorties are QB, RT, S and then G, WR. ROUND 1 - PICK 20 1-Cullen Harper QB Clemson - The Bears do need to address the QB position, so don't be suprised if they pull the trigger on Harper who can spend the 2009 season grooming behind Orton. Other considerations: Darius Heyward-Bey WR Maryland - The Bears would love to take the speedster at WR, but feel OL needs to be priortiy #1 until they are probowl caliber. There philoshy is to run the ball and Forte looks real good so far and by adding more quality to the front 5, he should only get better and last longer. Duke Robinson G Oklahoma - Robinson will fit Lovies philosphy for getting off the bus running. Even though the Bears look like they have depth at G with the addition of Buenning, the emerence of Beekman, and the steady Garza, they need to prepare themselves for the drop off in production from the aging: Kreutz at Center, Garza at RG, and Tait at RT. Buenning is young and should regain his rookie form of dominating and would fit nice at the RG position. Robinson will battle Beekman for the LG spot and he should take that without any problems. Garza will fill in nicely as a backup G, while Beekman can challenge Kreutz for the C. The Bears opened up competition for the QB spot, so I see no reason why the rules should be different for any other position. Myron Rolle S Florida St - He can challege Craig Krenzel for smartest Bear as Rolle will have to decide whether to continue on in his medical studies or pursue a career in the NFL. S will be on top of the Bears needs since Brown/McGowan are FA after this season. ROUND 2 - PICK 52 2-Phil Loadholt OT Oklahoma -Loadholt will be another risky pick as he was picked up for a DUI last June. But his ceiling is high as the 6-8 350 pounder will be a road graded paving the way for Forte at RT for many years. A healthy Chris Williams will solidy the LT. Other considerations: Curtis Painter QB Purdue - Painter will join former Purdue alum Kyle Orton and follow in his footsteps once again. The Bears hope that Painter will outperform Orton like he did in college. Painer should pass Drew Brees and Orton for Purdues passing yardage Patrick Chung SS Oregon- Heart and soul of Oregon's D, Chung plays more of a rover similiar to what Urlacher did in New Mexico Courtney Green S Rutgers Michael Hamlin S Clemson ROUND 3 - PICK 86 3-Derek Pegues FS Mississippi St. - A safety with speed, Pegues is Daniel Manning take 2. Peques can also play ST as a returner. Other condiderations: Oderick Turner WR Pitt - At 6-3 200, Turner has size and speed and depending on how Lloyd, Booker, and Bradley do he may become a higher priority. Louis Vasquez LG Texas Tech - Vasquez is a big road grading G, that plays LG for Texas Tech's pass happy spread offense. He could challege Beekman for the rights to left guard.

The only reason I wouldn't do it is b/c of your RB situation. Rudi Johnson/Ronnie Brown combo would be very questionable. RBrown could bounce back, or be a fantasy bust. Word on my street is Miami is also high on Ricky Williams. So your looking at a RB by committee and counting on Browns recovery lasting. Minny is projected as a #1 or #2 fantasy D. J. Stewart should see as many carries if not more than DeAngelo Williams. Ladell Betts backs up Clinton Portis and how many seasons has Portis stayed healthy. Evans and Reg. Brown are hit and miss, so you'll have to be lucky in guessing which to use as your flex. I'd look for another trade partner to see if you can find some RB depth b/c your WR/TE is a strong point. Find whoever has Portis and offer Evans, Brown, and Betts for a decent RB and an extra WR. Good luck

I first met him his rookie year in Bourbonnias, he was pretty cool and hanging out with Columbo. Now he seems bitter and is pretty arrogant. Won't go into details, but it's just a personal experience.

I'm sort of disappointed in the Bears. First off, they draft Zach Bowman, who was a very a high risk/high reward type of player, in a position that we were fairly deep at. I was all excited about him developing into what we envisioned to become. To end up wasting that draft pick is why i'm disappointed. We could of grabbed G Roy Schuening who was taken at pick 157 by Stl (15 picks after Bowman) or even Carl Nicks OT who was taken at pick 164. If we end up with Bowman after he clears waivers, I'll be alright, but I don't see Bowman wanting to stay with us. He'll have a better chance elsewhere since he won't have to be behind Tillman, Vasher, McBride, Manning, and Graham. Plus he has sleeper written all over him, ask the Patriots who were setting there sights on him. My position on Jerry Angelo has just ticked one notch lower. I am a huge JA fan, I like what this new Guard can bring, I like his cap management. I also know this team is getting to the point were we can't keep everyone we like. I would of rather we cut Metcalf who is personally a jackazz in public and hasn't done one positive thing on the football field in 6 years. Hopefully all ends up as planned, we get a LG with starting experience and sign Bowman to the PS.

The Chicago Bears acquired offensive guard Dan Buenning from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tuesday in exchange for an undisclosed 2009 draft pick. Buenning was originally selected by the Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft and has appeared in 25 regular season contests with 23 starts during his NFL career. The Wisconsin product started all 16 contests in 2005 at left guard and helped pave way for Carnell Williams to rush for 1,178 yards in his rookie season. In 2006, Buenning started seven of nine contests he appeared in before being placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. Last season, Buenning was declared inactive for all 16 regular season contests and one playoff game. Looks like a good pick up to me. Started LG for Tampa but had trouble with injuries. If he can rebound, we may have a future LG for many years.

I live in Ashkum IL, 65 miles south of Chicago. 20 miles South of Bourbonnais.

The point I was making that you'll like this is I want QB,OL,OL,WR,OL,OL. I was also on board for doing that last year too. As for looking into the draft before Halloween, I keep up with that kind of stuff year round. I like to follow the top players to see who I'd like to see the Bears draft.

I would take either: Cullen Harper QB Clemson or Curtis Painter QB Purdue Then 4 offensive linemen, 1 WR, and 1 Safety.